By Nick Norlen, Senior Editor “Happy Monday!” Do you cringe a little every time someone says this or, worse, you find yourself saying it? “Happy” indicates celebration, right? “Happy Birthday!” “Happy New Year!” “Happy Friday!” These all make sense. But “Happy Monday”? Slow down, Captain Positive. For many of us, Monday morning begins a Monday mourning the end of Sunday Funday. Here at Dictionary.com, we …
We use hello several times a day to greet people or attract attention. But as prevalent as the word is, it is relatively new. Where does hello come from? While use of the term hello dates back earlier, it isn’t recorded with this exact spelling until the 1800s. Hello is considered a variant on a number of other similar words—like hallo, holla, and hollo—that were used to hail and …
“So long, farewell …” This catchy tune from The Sound of Music is just one of many artistic reflections throughout the years on the ways we say goodbye. And it’s no wonder this parting word and its synonyms have been the subject of much rumination over the years as saying goodbye has become an integral part of our interactions with people, places, and things. We …
